Alfonso Cuarón could make Best Picture history with Roma

The 91st Academy Awards nominationswere recently announced, and there were certainly some surprises. So many spectacular films have been acknowledged across the ceremonies many categories, but all eyes were attentive towards the list of nominees for Best Picture. There were some additions we all expected to see; The Favourite, Green Book, Vice, A Star is Born and BlacKkKlansman. However, it was pretty refreshing to see Black Panther and Bohemian Rhapsody amongst the eight nominees, the former of which is the first superhero film to ever be nominated for Best Picture.

The final nomination was for Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma. It does seem surreal to see a foreign-language film in the race, as there hasn’t been one in the running since Michael Haneke’s 2012 effort Amour, which won for Best Foreign Language Film. There have been less than ten foreign language films to ever be nominated for the coveted award; finally, one may actually win.

It’s tough to call, but it looks like the current favourites to win are Green Book and Roma. Cuarón’s film was the critical darling of 2018, and there are plenty of film fans who’d love to see it soar. Sure, history is certainly against it, and if it wins, it will be the first - such a huge feat for world cinema. With the competition beginning to intensify, many are adamant that Roma will be the 91st Academy Awards Best Picture winner, and Cuarón is definitely the favourite to storm Best Director.

The director’s semi-autobiographical account of a middle-class family in early 1970s Mexico City has received ten nominations; Best Picture, Director, Leading Actress, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Foreign Language Film, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Production Design. It led the list of nominations alongside Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite, which similarly secured a spot in ten categories.

It’s set to be an intense ceremony, and Roma’s the one most are riding on. In the entire history of the Academy Awards, this is the closest we’ve ever come to seeing a foreign language film win Best Picture. If it does, the future of the ceremony will see much more international output for years to come. The 91st Academy Awards ceremony will take place February 25, 2019.